Late for work again?

Yes, I was late for work today -- but it wasn't my fault, again.

Have you ever used that line? Well, you will. It does happen, and for some of us who rely on public transit, it happens more than we'd like. So first, the reasons, then the excuses.

The reasons in my case are simple -- I take the commuter rail, and they're doing track work up and down the line. That, along with signal problems, switching problems and equipment problems, makes my commute vary from 30 to 90 minutes. (Note: if a public transit line is doing track work, you have to believe it's long, long overdue, and I think I'm happy about it despite the delays.)

The excuses: well, I could use the old "I was delayed by a rip in the space-time continuum", but around here you just mention train problems and pretty much everybody nods in sympathy and understanding.

So the real deal is this -- how do you prepare for this type of disruption in your well-ordered life and schedule?

In my case, it's a combination of things. For one, I try to take care of as many things as possible remotely, in the evenings. I know this is not an option available (or desirable) to everyone, but it makes sense for some.

Second, if you know there are likely to be on-time issues (whether your fault or not), talking to your boss about it in advance is always a good idea. Maybe the two of you will arrive at some agreeable solution, maybe not. But at the least, there will be communication about a (potential) work problem, and that's good for everybody.

Third, make sure you have contact numbers and/or email info for your boss as well as co-workers programmed into your cell phone. If something happens, you want to be able to call, or text-message.

I know you've all had problems with "tardiness" as they used to say in school. What would you suggest? No, seriously!

Stifling jobs in a scary economy?

When you think about your career, your job, and job security, does the word victim come to mind? Is every day a bad day at the office?

Interesting. Because you're certainly not alone. A recent Experience poll suggested that more than 70 percent of young professionals (that would be you) have failed to hit the career goals they had when they graduated.


And yes, some of you blame your bosses, and some of you blame your companies, and some are just plain burnt out.

On this blog, we recently heard comments about the way some companies treat employees. One suggested that for all the appreciation he sees at work, he might as well be working as a contractor (preferably for a staffing firm that offers benefits).

This is a problem for you, the employee, and an even greater problem for them (the employers). According to one research report, turnover can cost a company nearly three times an employee's salary to replace them, including recruitment, training, severance, and lost productivity. And companies are finally starting to recognize this, and pay attention. In many cases, they're listening to the clear messages that employees are sending, and responding positively to them.

What's it like at your company? Is the economy so scary that you're trying to hold on, or are you right on the edge? Do you and your colleagues talk about this much? And is your company hearing what you're saying?

When HR does too little, or too much

In a previous life, I worked at a company with a limited amount of parking available for a lot of people who drove into work. One colleague, with less rank, privilege or seniority than others, did have a space assigned to him.

Unfair? Favoritism? Well, you decide. His car had been vandalized multiple times in the unguarded public area. The theory was that he was being victimized for being gay.

No one ever knew for sure if that was the reason for the vandalism, and even if it were true, nobody could imagine that fellow employees would do such a thing.

I guess I could imagine such a thing, but that's really not important (since I won't name any names here). But what is important is the way our HR department handled it.

First, they thought about his privacy and didn't put out any warnings or wanted posters. Second, they came up with a solution that resolved the immediate problem quickly without subjecting the employee to a protracted investigative process.

What they did not do was to take the opportunity to develop and present a program on respect and safety -- issues that would be meaningful to everybody. What they did not do was raise awareness that some people within the company might have respect or safety issues, which eventually affects a company's persona.

What else could they have done? What should they have done?

photo by meckleychina

Banding together at work

OK, we thought we were hot stuff when we decided to team up to write a blog about three generations in the same workplace. Now we find out -- we got nothin’.

According to HR professionals, who say they’ve never seen anything like it before, companies are now seeing FOUR (count-‘em) generations of employees working together.

They say something interesting -- that HR departments better learn to do two things well: convince Baby Boomers to postpone retirement and adapt to working with the Gen Y’ers with their very different expectations. And that’s not even talking about the older “traditionalists” and the in-between Gen X’ers.

So how will this wash? A lot of BBs that I know are anxious to retire (yup, they’re the ones who bought into the idea of 60-80 hour workweeks for white-collar workers, thought it was a good idea for career advancement).

A lot of GYs I know are anxious to get ahead quickly. Traditionally, that was done by starting with a small (but diversified) job at a small company, moving up after several years to a larger company, and so on. Not so much anymore.

GXs and GYs say they look through the red tape, see the price their parents (and grandparents) paid for playing the corporate game, and are trying to short-circuit the process.

I know I wouldn’t want to be in the shoes of an HR person, trying to avoid saying “no way, but please stay” to everybody in sight.

OK, so here’s a radical solution – let the BBs go. In fact, incentivize them. Yes, they’re often the mentors and the managers – so what!

Find ways to fast-track the GX and GY stars – the managers of tomorrow. Give them the career paths that they want, knowing that they’ll be ready to challenge and be challenged.

Do we have any votes for bringing the workplace all the way down to two generations – anyone? Or is a diverse workplace -- where colleagues learn from each other -- actually still worth something?

Photo by MissK1

Yeah, Hi. It's Bill Lumbergh again!

There’s death and taxes (don’t forget to file by April 15!), but nothing is as certain as change. Not just the kind politicians talk about, but also the kind every office and every workplace experiences.

Sometimes, new people are hired. Other times, people leave. And still other times, there are reorganizations and people just move.

If you’re relatively new in the working world, you may not have had change happen yet. You will. If you’ve been out there for a few years, you’ve seen it, and you’ll see more of it.



In our office, we have two changes – moves, actually -- happening simultaneously, and we’re all doing our best to cope. First, our office space is changing, and we’re moving – just across the hall, but moving is moving. Second, one of our colleagues that you'll know -- a co-author of this blog -- is moving on to a new job.

The office move will take some time to adjust to – with different combinations of people in different places, trying to figure out what works. The colleague move is a permanent change, as we all try to figure out how things will work without Andrea, and how to find a new Andrea to replace her.

The reality is that there won’t be a new Andrea – there’ll be a new someone else. Parts of “old” Andrea will continue on as the rest of us must find ways to keep going without her.

The larger change will be figuring out how the new workplace and the new person will mesh -- and change. More and more, we see the effects of change. First, there was the mobile office. Telecommuting is replacing flextime, which is replacing 9 to 5 as the standard. Everything keeps changing.

Is this happening in your office? How are you and your colleagues coping? Leave a comment and let us know.

40 years later – is diversity alive at your job?

Forty years ago (April 4, 1968) the death of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. put the country on notice. What became clear, in the grief and confusion at the time, was that many more changes were needed to develop a more diverse society and a more diversified workplace.

Diversity became a hot button for a very long time. College students in 1968 were profoundly affected by Dr. King’s death, and took that motivation into the workplace with them. Federal, and then state, laws governing diversity at work, diversity in schools and other organizations – all contributed to the progress.

Among the most difficult concepts – recognizing that diversity had to spread beyond affirmative action mandates. It needed to encompass the various perspectives, the similarities that people can contribute to the organizational identity. That’s where some organizations try harder than others, some are more successful than others.

So here's the question -- a question for each of you. What can be done to continue, to actually broaden the impact of diversity in the workplace when most workplaces discourage or disallow discussions of diverse beliefs? How do you start?

photo by Pan-African News Wire

Career Comedy: Keep a Close Watch on Your Supplies

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Career Comedy: What Not to Do at Work

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or alumni publication? Find a higher-resolution, print-friendly file here: 10amCartoon

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Diversity -- Has it become OLD news?

Anyone ever feel that Diversity in the workplace is old news? Then you’re obviously not paying attention to the presidential campaign.

No, not what you think. We’ve read tons about voters weighing the differences between a black candidate (male) and a female (white) candidate. Yes, it’s for a job, a very important job, to be sure, but it’s still all about two candidates vying for a job.

But wait, there’s more! There’s another likely candidate for the job – older (white male). And here’s how that type of diversity plays on the TV and radio talk shows:

“Maybe John McCain would only be a one-term president. After all he’s 71 or 72 or 73—who knows?”

“If McCain wins, it’ll be a great opportunity for Romney or Huckabee to run for president in four years.”

Four years? What are these people thinking?

More on diversity and the election: We ran a survey on Experience recently that dealt with the election, and reported the results as showing Barack Obama being more popular among students than Hillary Clinton.

We soon received an email protesting the trivialization of these contests as a popularity contest:

“Since Mr. Obama has taken the delegate lead in the race for the democratic presidential nominee, the press's true colors have begun to show and experience.com appears to be no exception. If Mrs. Clinton was ahead, she would undoubtedly have earned true voters as opposed to being reduced to the winner of a popularity contest.

“That is not only offensive and demeaning, but it speaks volumes as to your opinion one of the most important races EVER to face our country and certainly the most important race in the lives of current college students.”

While that was certainly not our intent, it does speak to the danger of media attitudes that oversimplify. And these same attitudes can easily (and unintentionally) surface in the workplace – attitudes regarding minorities of any type, whether by race, gender or age.

Speaking of which, has anyone else noticed that the three leading candidates are routinely referred to on TV news shows as Sen. McCain, Sen. Clinton, and Barack?

Reminds me of the last state elections in Massachusetts where Gov. Deval Patrick was routinely referred to for months by the media as “Deval”, unlike his predecessor who was referred to (from Day One) as Gov. Romney.

Do you see these workplace problems? Is it any different where you work? Let us know.

It’s FREEZING in here! (Not what you think)

Thanks to Remote Access, I worked from home yesterday along with many others in the area – missing (well, not really MISSING) much of an ice/snow/sleet/rain storm.

Unlike other remote sessions, the response was slow (too many people working from home, perhaps?) and way too often, the connection would freeze up. Which brings up two questions:

1. Are remote connections completely ready for prime time if more and more people start working remotely (see also STORMS, $5 per gallon GAS PRICES)?

2. Are we ready to move to the Remote Workplace on a large-scale basis?

The first answer is probably, possibly yes, or at least very soon. My faith in high-tech solutions is not easily dampened by torrential downpours.

Second answer is more complicated. I learned all about work in a group environment – whether an office, a warehouse, an ice cream shop, whatever.

It wasn’t just about learning the job skills, but also about co-existence. It’s not that much of a stretch between cooperating on the temperature of the heating/AC and cooperating on a project.

Change the scene to people – many people – working from home much of the time. Not getting into the day-to-day interactions, the smiles at seeing somebody receive flowers on Valentine’s Day or the shared sadness of somebody leaving. Will people learn all they need about “the way we’ve always done it here”?

I’m trying to get a mindpicture of what the workplace will look and feel like in 10 years. The warmth of an office atmosphere gets replaced by the coolness of long-distance. And I’m not quite figuring it out – how it will work, will it work?

Will we all be OK as essentially independent contractors? Some thrive, some don’t. Some (who happen to be in the office that day) will love having the whole place to themselves.

Or will the entire office disappear? Will it even be necessary?

What do you think – what’s your vision?

photo by Mr. Tu

Is Your Valentine Sitting in the Next Cube?

According to our recent survey of young professionals, inter-office dating is pretty commonplace. The best example I know of a romance that began at work was recently cemented with a marriage proposal at a little ski lodge in Vermont. But not all office romances go so smoothly.

What are the biggest risks of kissing the cutie in the next cube?

Experience readers reported these:

1. Gossip. Oh yeah. If people at work know you are dating, you can bet they're going to talk about it.

2. Awkwardness. As one respondent from Bradley U. said, "I've seen many people date within the workplace and more often than not, it turns into an awkward situation for not only those two people, but their other work friends who are thrown into the middle of their tension."

2. Accusations of favoritism. If your office crush is your manager (or your direct report), don't even think about it.

3. Accusations of (post-break up) prejudice. "Whether it goes well or badly, it will impact office politics," one alum of Tampa U. told us.

5. Getting fired. It doesn't happen often, but sometimes, especially if you act in direct defiance of a workplace policy on dating, it could cost you your job.

Got any tales of your own true-life office romance? Any sordid stories of break-up fall-out, or careers turned upside down by love? On the flip side, can you think of any *good* reasons to date someone you work with, or tips for success if you happen to be hit by Cupid's arrow at an 8am meeting?

~Happy Valentine's Day~

Crisis Management: What to Do When You've Committed an Email Faux Pas

It's happened to all of us: we've hit "send" on the wrong email to the wrong colleague, and then experienced that sinking feeling that our misdirected message is right-this-minute being opened and read by its un-intended recipient.

The worst part is knowing there's no way to fix it. Or is there? Though an email faux pas is often irreperable, you can take steps toward damage control.

1. Recall the message. Some email services (Outlook is one) have a "recall" capability. You can recall or replace a message only if its recipient is logged on and using Microsoft Outlook and has not read the message or moved it from their Inbox. In Mail, in the Navigation Pane, click Sent Items. Open the message you want to recall or replace. In the message window, on the Actions menu, click Recall This Message.
Caveat: The recipient of the message you want to recall must also be using an Exchange server e-mail account. For example, you cannot recall a message sent to someone's personal Internet service provider POP3 e-mail account.
When in doubt, call your office IT person.

2. Apologize. If the offense is minor, send a quick follow-up email that says, "Please disregard my previous message--it was intended for someone else. My apologies for the confusion."
If the offense is great, however, it's best to deal with the problem directly by approaching the recipient in person and offering your most humble mea culpa.
If, in the worst case scenario, you have sent an inappropriate email to the entire company, your best course of action might be to go to your immediate superior to confess your misdeed and work out a strategy for saving face. But get used to the idea that people are going to be gossiping about this one for a while.

Are there any other strategies for managing the crisis of the mis-sent email? Please share your advice (& humorous horror stories!). In this age of constant communication, some mistakes are simply inevitable--but handling them well is a sign of professional grace and maturity.